Training must meet employers' needs

The number of students starting IT degree courses fell 13.3 per cent last year, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

This figure came as a surprise to many in education and industry, because numbers have been rising steadily for five years.

As demand for IT staff begins to pick up, a decline now should concern all those employing IT professionals.

A vital part of our work at e-skills UK is to ensure that government-funded IT courses are relevant and valued by employers, and are therefore attractive to young people entering the industry as well as to established professionals developing their skills further.

Addressing the skills needs of the future is not a short-term activity; it requires a long-term commitment from education, government and industry.

Employers have long been contributing to the debate on skills, and there are forums where they can exchange views with educators.

While such vehicles throw up interesting discussions and ideas, a more formal mechanism is needed to match employers' requirements with training provision.

Engaging with employers is central to the strategy of sector skills councils, such as e-skills UK.

We are convinced that there is a path that employers, educators and training providers can take, not just to define the IT skills needs of the industry, but to develop an action plan to ensure that these skills are delivered.

The pledge to support employers was outlined in the Government's Skills Strategy White Paper published last summer, and has taken shape in the form of Sector Skills Agreements.

Put simply, the e-skills Sector Skills Agreement defines the future skills and productivity needs of employers within the IT sector, and draws up a 'contract' with suppliers of education and training to guarantee that these needs are delivered.

This structure gives employers more say than ever before in determining what skills their business sector needs to increase productivity and profitability.

To put this into practice, e-skills UK has established a regional programme of employer forums, called e-skills Exchange. The first region we are looking at is the south east.

According to e-skills UK's 2003 Regional Gap survey, 22 per cent of the UK's IT workforce is based in the south east. In addition, 39 per cent of employers know that they have skills issues but cannot identify what IT skills they need.

The South-East e-skills Exchange, which meets quarterly, is supported by local employers, including Hewlett Packard, Telewest Broadband, ITNet and Hampshire County Council.

The first objective of e-skills Exchange is to 'translate' employers' business issues into definable skills needs.

The second aim is to bring employers and educators together to develop course curricula and support integrated work and learning.

A good example of such a partnership is the e-skills degree being developed at universities in the south east. This degree course is radically different in that it has been built from the ground up to meet employers' needs.

Engaging with employers in such a deep way also benefits individuals, giving them the confidence that publicly funded training provision will meet the needs of employers and thus improve their employability and career prospects.

Karen Price is chief executive at e-skills UK.

Skills Strategy White Paper

Sector Skills Agreements

e-skills Exchange